Thursday, June 30, 2016

Free blood pressure screenings by the Ridgefield Visiting
Nurse Association (RVNA) are the latest health and wellness service being
offered by your Library. From July 13th
through the end of December, RVNA volunteers and nurses will be on hand on the
2nd Wednesday of each month from 11:00 AM to 12 noon. Look for the sign-in table in our Main Lobby;
no appointments are required, and the service is provided free of charge.

This new service is a perfect fit with several other initiatives
currently underway, including our two-year partnership with Lyme Connection and
Smart Revenue to build a model community response to end Lyme Disease. In
addition to continued Lyme awareness and prevention education, our Summer
Reading Program theme of exercising your mind and your body will include several
meditation and healing workshops for adults and entertaining and educational
encounters with bugs for children.

Also on tap is a series called Summer of Running, supported
by our Noreen L. Papa: Mothers Live your Life Fund and featuring a wealth of
activities related to running in Ridgefield and around the world. Watch also
for announcement of a date for this year’s RVNA flu shot clinic at the Library
in the fall.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Hitting the road for vacation? Make the Ridgefield Library your first stop!

Check out the Library Store for roomy book bags to hold all
your gear. Pick up a blank journal to
record your travel impressions. And
don’t forget a portable power bank for emergency re-charging of electronics.

Booklists, displays and staff recommendations will help you
fill up that bag with great leisure reading choices. If you are away for some time, many borrowed
items can be renewed online (as long as there is no waiting list). And don’t forget you can log your Summer
Reading online while you are on the road, then come in to claim your rewards
when you return.

If all the members of your traveling party can agree on a title,
the Library has many wonderful audiobook recordings on CD and Playaway, as well
as downloadable material available from hoopla and OverDrive which can be
played through many car stereo systems.
If your companions have different tastes, you can enjoy individual choices
of downloadable and streaming offerings such as eBooks, audiobooks, TV, movies
and music – each on your own personal device.

Just remember to pack your Ridgefield Library card and check
in at ridgefieldlibrary.org!

Thursday, June 16, 2016

It might not be quite grammatically correct, but this
question nicely expresses the philosophy of our upcoming 2nd annual celebration
of popular culture, coming August 12th and 13th. Last year we held a comic con, focused
primarily on the Summer Reading Program superhero and comic book theme. In 2016, we are expanding to something we are
calling RidgeCon, which will encompass a wide range of fandoms, from youngsters
obsessed with Disney princesses to older adults who can’t get enough of Downton
Abbey. And of course, there will still
be plenty for followers of the big pop culture phenomena of the summer, from
X-Men, Star Trek and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies to the release of the
long-awaited new Harry Potter novel.

Activities during RidgeCon will include cosplay, face
painting, drawing workshops, gaming, themed trivia and scavenger hunts, green
screen photo ops, live entertainment, visits from costumed characters,
choose-your-own-adventure scenarios and even a special Friday evening event for
adult fans of All Things British.

Businesses and individuals interested in purchasing a vendor
table, program book ad or event sponsorship should visit ridgefieldlibrary.org
or call John Casiello at 203-438-2282 x11006

So, whatever you are a fan of, we hope to see you in August
– in costume or not!

Thursday, June 9, 2016

On the go or on the track? In the car or in the kitchen? These are just a few of the places you can
enjoy listening to audiobooks any time.
And the Ridgefield Library can help you find a wealth of titles for all
ages available at no cost to you.

Almost every kind of book is now available in audio format, from
romance and science fiction to memoir and non-fiction. You can learn a
language, catch up with a favorite series character, explore the ideas of great
thinkers, sample a new author or re-visit a beloved classic.

Our newest offerings are downloadable audiobooks from OverDrive and
Hoopla, two subscription services available to Ridgefield Library
cardholders. Learn how to access these
from most computers or devices by asking at the Adult Services desk or visiting
our Digital Library Page at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.

Many listeners are partial to the convenient Playaway format, which
incorporates a playback mechanism into the packaging of each title, so you
don’t have to have yet another device.

And, of course, we also have the traditional book-on-CD format
featuring adult, teen and children’s titles, along with read-along kits for
youngsters including a book and an audio narration.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

On your Mark, Get Set…Read! No matter what happens at the
Summer Olympics in Brazil, we expect to set new records in reading right here
in Ridgefield this summer, with the annual Summer Reading Program, which begins
June 13th. Pre-schoolers, elementary
school students, teens and adults are all invited to take part and earn prizes,
enjoy entertaining programs and more.
The formal program runs through July 30th, but you can
continue to log your reading and collect prizes until the day before school
starts. Find out all the details at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.

June 13th is also the beginning of our summer schedule. From then through Labor Day, the Library will
be closed on Sundays; the rest of our schedule remains the same as always:
Monday – Thursday, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Friday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Saturday
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. And don’t forget to
visit our “virtual library branch” online 24/7 at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org for
eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, music and video, research databases and much
more.

Other highlights of the summer include RidgeCon on August 12
and 13 (our 2nd annual celebration of popular culture) and writing
contests for children and adults (details to be announced shortly). See you at
the Library!